16% beer?

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by DerrickW, Feb 23, 2013.

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  1. deuce9259

    deuce9259 Initiate (0) Dec 28, 2011 Ohio

    Founders Devil Dancer used to say 14%...now that its distributed to Ohio bottles are 12%.
     
  2. Ispeakforthetrees

    Ispeakforthetrees Initiate (0) Apr 2, 2012 Colorado

    That's not true.
    For the binge drinker who chooses quantity, 3.2 in comparison to 5-5.5 is a large difference.
    In the realm of craft beer and its sale it is very limiting however.
     
    BigBarley likes this.
  3. beercanman

    beercanman Initiate (0) Dec 17, 2012 Ohio

    But I can go buy a bottle of 151 proof rum. Nah there is no point to them. If its brewed, it should be available. Distribution willing of course.
     
    TwelveOunces, mfnmbvp and fredmugs like this.
  4. UCLABrewN84

    UCLABrewN84 Initiate (0) Mar 18, 2010 California

    I believe they just changed the label, not the beer. By the way, in CA it had to be labeled as California Edition 16 and not Sweet 16.
     
  5. animal69

    animal69 Pooh-Bah (1,832) Sep 21, 2007 Louisiana
    Pooh-Bah Society

    ms. just raised their cap from 6 percent
     
  6. luwak

    luwak Initiate (0) Mar 2, 2010 Arizona

    16 >> 15 by a mile...it was sweeter but i bought like a case of 15 since it was so damn cheap...and it gets better and better so...
     
    fujindemon74 likes this.
  7. atomic

    atomic Initiate (0) Sep 22, 2009 Illinois

    Had this a week ago. Liked it a lot, but it was definitely a beer I needed to share. Had maybe 1/3 of it before I started looking around the room and asking myself "who would like some of this?"

    One thing I thought was odd, it was 10.99 here in IL, at least where I found it. My friend in AZ says its $6 near him, not sure if its a pricing error or a regional price difference; seems weird that az would have this beer so much cheaper than we do in chicago considering its from NY.
     
  8. JonnyBeers

    JonnyBeers Savant (1,187) Oct 24, 2012 Canada (BC)

    Does this also mean Epic Brewing isn't allowed to sell it's beers in it's own state? Anything I've ever had from them is well over 4%
     
  9. HKUSPC40

    HKUSPC40 Initiate (0) Aug 28, 2012 Washington

    Jewbelation was 16% in Wa
     
  10. jesskidden

    jesskidden Grand Pooh-Bah (3,071) Aug 10, 2005 New Jersey
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    So called "3.2" beer in those states (OK, UT, KS, CO, MN, MO - in order*) that still use that limit for some licensed retailers by law can't be over 3.2 alcohol by weight, not "abv". 3.2% abw is just about 4% abv, as noted on this snippet of a Budweiser label from one of those states.

    [​IMG]

    * In order of the percentage of all beer sold in that state that is 3.2. Over 80% of all 3.2 beer in the US is sold just in OK and UT.
     
    BottleCaps80 and billandsuz like this.
  11. Lutter

    Lutter Initiate (0) Jun 30, 2010 Texas
    Deactivated

    If that's true... that's HILARIOUS.

    Thank god in Texas the one thing we've got going for us is no ABV cap. Well, I think in a supermarket you're capped to 17% or so, which is barely applicable. In a liquor store though... anything goes! We even get those crazy ABV beers from BrewDog like Sink the Bismarck @ 42% ABV.

    I know I bought the OP's beer at a supermarket (Central Market).

    There's also a third variant of 'Jewbulation Sweet 16' for California... where they wouldn't allow them to use the words "SWEET 16" on the label because it might "promote underage drinking". So it has a banner over it that says "CALIFORNIA EDITION"

    [​IMG]
     
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  12. jesskidden

    jesskidden Grand Pooh-Bah (3,071) Aug 10, 2005 New Jersey
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    That seems unlikely since Bud Light and Miller Lite in the "regular" incarnations are both above 3.2% abw/4.0% abv limit - both at 4.2 abv. The large brewers all practice "high gravity" brewing, brewing a strong beer and then diluting to the regular desired strength at bottling. As such, it wouldn't be difficult for AB and MC to simply add even more water to make the 3.2 abw versions of the various flagship beers. Back in the '70's when Coors only brewed one beer, they marketed Coors Banquet in both a 3.6% and 3.2% abw version, depending on state/retailer type.

    HG brewing is how some brewers created the "light" versions of their regular beers. In particular, Michelob Light was AB's first entry into the "light beer" segment in the 1970's in an attempt to capture some of Miller Lite's explosive market share, and was made by simply adding a bit more water to regular Michelob (and, as a result, it was one of the most caloric "light beers" at the time).
     
  13. Stinger80OH

    Stinger80OH Initiate (0) Nov 11, 2011 Ohio

    I was recently at Dark Horse and they had BBPt5 on tap and listed on their board with an ABV of 14%. We get BBPt5 here in Ohio and the bottle is labeled as 11 or 12% yet the folks at Dark Horse insist that they don't make specific batches for certain states, such as Ohio. This leads me to believe that breweries will label their beers to meet state ABV caps yet have contents that are, in fact, the real deal, higher ABV beer that everyone else gets.
     
  14. Andygirl

    Andygirl Initiate (0) Jan 3, 2013 Michigan

    BBPT5 is brewery only. Regular PT5 is distributed in 4 packs and isn't waxed. Different ABV.
     
    luwak likes this.
  15. RockAZ

    RockAZ Pundit (983) Jan 6, 2009 Arizona

    Does the 12% Sweet 16 taste like Everclear blended with Maple syrup, because that is what the 16%'er tastes like to me. Not necessarily a bad thing,..
     
  16. nc41

    nc41 Initiate (0) Sep 25, 2008 North Carolina
    Trader

    We have a 15% ABV here in NC. I can't believe any brewer would change labels and sell illegally, it sounds ridiculous and not worth the potential fine. Also hard to believe any brewer would make different batches for certain states, it would make QC an enormous pain in the ass and not worth the effort. These are small craft brewers trying to maximize profits not kill their business. The most reasonable answer is not to sell to states with an ABV limit that your product exceeds. We get DFH here in NC, but not 120, you can probably get it in Va. We don't get Uncle Jacobs here it's 18%, but you can get it in Va, we get other Avery products here as well.
     
  17. Stinger80OH

    Stinger80OH Initiate (0) Nov 11, 2011 Ohio

    That's interesting since I saw it on shelves somewhere in NW Ohio a few years back.
     
  18. mjn5036

    mjn5036 Initiate (0) Nov 9, 2008 New Hampshire

    I see a lot of people mentioning that breweries will just slap a different abv on the label to get it in various states. Not sure how it works in other states but in New Hampshire the brewery is required to submit the beer for lab testing. If the abv found in the beer comes back differently than what was submitted on the paperwork it gets rejected. Hence the reason I didn't get the last FW Anniversary.
     
  19. grumpy

    grumpy Pundit (896) May 24, 2005 Missouri

    Kind of renders pointless the whole 10 malts/ten hops/10% ----> 16 malts/16 hops/16% series that this beer is supposed to be each year.
     
  20. Ri0

    Ri0 Initiate (0) Jul 1, 2012 Wisconsin

    In this example and the one above, I have to ask, is the ABV different or do they just slap a new label on it? Does the state test the bottles before they hit the shelves?
     
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